This subject speaks to all of us, especially Christians, because nobody is left out. We can’t say this message is for someone else—struggle and temptation are things all of us deal with every day. For some, struggle is your middle name because that’s where you are this morning.
We all know what struggle looks like. It comes to Black people, white people, Native Americans, Hispanic people and every other race. It hits us right in the face. From the moment we wake up until we go to sleep, we have to deal with or battle some type of struggle. It comes in many forms: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual—just trying to make it.
The Bible defines struggle as “an internal battle with sin, spiritual warfare against evil.” Struggle is a process of spiritual growth, meaning we need to struggle sometimes. We struggle to do battle with forces that try to influence God’s children through temptation to do wrong. He tempts us through the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). As the Spirit lusts against the flesh and the flesh against the Spirit (Gal. 5:17), we are in constant battle.
From the time we wake up to the time we lay our heads down, we face struggles. As we get older, steps get shorter, breath gets shorter, vision becomes obscured, hearing fades, hair turns gray, and arthritis or gout sets in. What used to take a minute now takes effort.
Health declines. Raising a family today is a struggle, with cultural beliefs and influences all around us. We fight to keep them from infiltrating our children’s minds. Life brings financial pressures, family problems, marriage problems—and temptation. Someone reading this today may be struggling with a persistent illness, finding it difficult to get out of bed, or simply moving from point A to point B. Others struggle with the mind—a battle Satan targets most because if he can get our minds, he can get our whole person.
If you visit local convalescent homes or intensive care units, you’ll see people struggling just to breathe. Some struggle with depression. When you can’t do what you used to do, when you can’t go to church as you normally would, the enemy plays tricks with your mind. It’s a struggle not to feel sorry for yourself, not to fall into depression. It’s a struggle to break bad habits. Peer pressure challenges young people to maintain their own mind and do what is right.
But for some, struggle is absent because they follow the crowd or feel the need for validation. Still, community, we need struggle. Without it, we let our guard down. Struggle keeps us on our knees. It causes us to pray more, push us to church and to God’s Word. Not all struggle is bad; when we overcome it, our faith is stronger, we are closer to God, and He can use us.
Community, we ought to thank God for struggles. When they are absent, we tend to relax—and that can be dangerous. The biggest struggle comes when everything is going well. Many fall into temptation when they have nothing to do. That is why we must put on the whole armor of God to stay alert and remember that we are still at war.
The only way to fight spiritual enemies is with spiritual weapons—the Word of God and prayer. These are our tools; with them, we cannot lose.
Community, we have victory when we realize we don’t fight for victory—we fight from victory. Victory over depression, discouragement, circumstances, struggle. Rise, shine and give God the glory. Walk in your victory, sing in your victory, preach in your victory, praise God. In Christ, we have victory in the struggle.
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